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Thieves Caught, Return Loot

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Lyndon McLellan, a convenience store owner, was robbed. The marauders took $107,000 of his honestly earned money.

We don’t need the police to find out who did it (and no, the police themselves are not the culprit, not this time). The IRS took the money, suspecting that he “structured” his bank deposits to avoid reporting requirements. McLellan’s niece, responsible for making deposits, had followed a teller’s (bad) advice to deposit the money in such a way as to avoid paperwork. The IRS noticed the “too small” deposits and looted the account despite having no indication that the funds were ill-gotten.

“It took me 13 years to save that much money,” McLellan says, “and it took fewer than 13 seconds for the government to take it away.”

This, even though the IRS had recently promised not to summarily nab account contents solely for alleged “structuring.”

At first, the government offered to settle with McLellan by returning one half the money, their standard (and outrageous) offer in such cases. But neither McLellan nor the Institute for Justice — the champions of property rights helping him with the case — accepted the government’s “deal.”

Last week, the IRS dropped the case and agreed to return their booty. But only the principal. No interest, no attorney fees (for McLellan’s first lawyer), none of the $19,000 McLellan paid an accountant to prove his innocence.

IJ will continue to litigate. We can hope that the IRS will continue to lose.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.


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Thieve's Loot

 

4 replies on “Thieves Caught, Return Loot”

Accuse and abuse, abomination! The IRS should also pay the interest it would charge, and civil penalty it would have assessed.
No pain, no gain for the citizens.

Absolutely sickened by this. How dare the IRS cease accounts because they don’t like the structure of deposits. Are we living in China or Russia?! Completely agree with JFB’s comment as well. The voting public will completely ignore these IRS perpetrated abominations until it happens to them. I hope this man gets double his money back.

Governments are bankrupt. They will use any method they can, legal or illegal, to get out from under.

If it’s our legally obtained money; TOO BAD.

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